A Jan. 6 rioter accused of yanking a Capitol Police officer into a mob was slapped with a 90-month prison sentence, marking the second-longest sentence for the riot to date.
Albuquerque Cosper Head pleaded guilty to an assault charge for the incident back in May. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson declared that he was responsible for “some of the darkest acts committed on one of our nation’s darkest days,” according to the Associated Press.
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“He was your prey,” Jackson quipped, per Politico. “He was your trophy.”
Head had effectively bear-hugged Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone and dragged him from police lines, reportedly yelling, “I got one!” before the mob proceeded to rob Fanone and physically pummel him. Hailing from Tennessee, Head was a construction worker arrested in April 2021 and touted a record of 45 prior arrests.
The chilling attack on Fanone ultimately left him with a traumatic brain injury, and he has since left the police force as a result.
“I would ask you to show Mr. Head the same mercy that he showed me on January 6th, which, in case there’s any question in this courtroom, is none,” Fanone implored the court, per the Associated Press. “The catalyst for my loss of career and the suffering that I’ve endured in the past 18 months is Albuquerque Head.”
Prosecutors had recommended Head face eight years behind bars, but his sentencing came in just shy at seven years and six months. Fanone had urged an eight-year sentence as well, but Head’s lawyer, Nicholas Wallace, sought a lighter five-year prison stint.
“There is no evidence that Mr. Head made advance plans with much effort or that he came to D.C. prepared for a battle. His series of bad decisions, as outlined above, while serious, is far from the worst conduct that day,” Wallace wrote, per reports.
As part of his plea deal, Head reportedly confessed to the physical assault on Fanone. The retired officer delivered public testimony before the Jan. 6 committee recounting the brutality he suffered during the Capitol riot.
“The dark shadow of tyranny unfortunately has not gone away,” Jackson added, according to Politico. “Some people are directing their vitriol at Officer Fanone and not at the people who summoned the mob in the first place.”
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Last month, a different judge sentenced former New York Police Department veteran Thomas Webster to 10 years in federal prison, the longest sentencing connected to the Capitol riot.
Roughly 900 people have been slapped with charges linked to the Capitol riot, including about 430 who have pleaded guilty to various crimes. At least 300 people have been sentenced, per the Associated Press. Most of those cases have been for lighter crimes, but prosecutors are starting to tackle the more serious ones, such as assaulting police officer charges, as they work through the Jan. 6 saga.
